Date: Tue, 17 May 1994 11:34:31 -0400 (EDT)
From: ROBERTBAKER@delphi.com
The following should be helpful to anyone interested in LesBiGay
& transgendered issues related to Armed Forces Worldwide.
Reposted by request of SW25 Veterans.
NOTE! File size approx. 24k or approx. 21 screens!
If you have seen the SW25 military & vets info pack, please delete now.
19 April 1994
Fellow veterans, military personnel and supporters,
The Stonewall 25 International March on the United Nations to
Affirm the Human Rights of Lesbian and Gay People is just over two
months away!! (68 days to be exact, but who's counting?)
This packet is the veteran's guide to Stonewall 25. Stonewall
25 Armed Forces Veterans* Coalition (SW25 Vets) has organized a
number of events specifically for veterans and military personnel, and
this packet covers them completely. It also includes information about
Stonewall 25, New York City itself, and the various events taking place
the weekend of 23-26 June 1994. Please read through this packet
carefully and then share it with as many people as possible. Feel free to
call me with questions at (201) 798-6272 (h), (212) 349-3455 (o), or email
at "rpuliatti@igc.apc.org".
[Signed]
Rene Puliatti,
National Veterans Representative to Stonewall 25
Note: the uploaded BBS version of this packet does not include forms,
pictures, maps or other attachments. Please contact Rene for forms or
attachments.
SW25 VETERANS EVENTS
Saturday, 25 June 94
10:00 a.m. Veterans Memorial Service at Soldiers and Sailors
Memorial Monument in Riverside Park (at 89th St.). Statement on
behalf of g/l/b/t veterans will be read.
1:00 p.m. Veterans Memorial Service at Trinity Church
(Broadway & Wall St.), conducted by the Alexander Hamilton Post of
the American Legion, at the grave site of Alexander Hamilton.
4 - 7 p.m. Veterans Reception and Cocktail Party at 346
Broadway, 8th Floor Conference Room. Veterans from across the
country will network and socialize. Our WW II veterans will also be
honored and Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) will be the keynote
speaker.
8 p.m. - ? "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Protest and Vigil at the Times
Square Armed Forces Recruiting Center (43rd & Broadway). Veterans
and military personnel will tell their own stories and candles will be lit
to remember those unable to attend. Media expected. No arrests
expected.
Sunday, 26 June 94
12 noon Stonewall 25 March. Veterans will probably march the
route from Greenwich Village to Central Park.
3:00 p.m. Stonewall 25 Rally in Central Park.
THINGS TO DO:
Before Stonewall 25:
If you plan on attending Stonewall 25 in NYC:
Make travel arrangements -- today!
Call 1-800-SW25-NYC (a portion goes to provide scholarships)
Make lodging accommodations -- today!
Call 1-800-216-1880 (a portion goes to provide scholarships)
If you need alternative housing, ask for them -- today!
Call Mac McCarthy at (212) 873-3962 -- and return the
alternative housing request form -- today!
Let us know if you have special needs!
Start thinking about what you want to do that weekend.
Plan on sweating/perspiring! NYC is hot and muggy in June.
If you do not plan on attending Stonewall 25 in NYC:
Be here in spirit!
* Send in the SW25 Here in Spirit form. Your personal
information will be placed on a crack-and-peel pink triangle sticker and
attached in various places throughout NYC. A $1 is appreciated, but not
required, and will help defray the cost of SW25 direct actions. Call
Mitch Weissner at (305) 754-6337 if you have questions.
* Send in a photo of yourself or a friend with AIDS to
the "March With a Buddy" project. That photo will be turned into a
poster and will be carried by a buddy in NYC. There is no cost to you.
Call 1-800-313-8485 for more details.
* Send in a Video Telegram/Video Clip of you and your
friends to the SW25 Rally Committee for possible use at the Rally. Not
all footage will be used. Contact Steve Oxendine at (212) 366-1358/1135
(fax) for more information.
Celebrate Stonewall 25 in your own community!!
* Check out your local community center and/or
publications. If there is none, check out the local college campus for a
g/l/b/t group.
* Check out the electronic bulletin boards (BBS) for
info. A copy of The Backroom BBS with Stonewall celebrations is
attached, with events from all across the country listed, as well as NYC.
Modem (718) 951-8256 to connect with The Backroom BBS.
Whether or not you come to Stonewall 25 in NYC:
Get the word out to others! Do outreach where it is difficult,
not just easy.
Endorse Stonewall 25: The International March on the
United Nations to Affirm the Human Rights of Lesbian and Gay
People. Read the enclosed brochure on Stonewall 25. Organizations,
Businesses, and individuals are welcome to endorse Stonewall 25.
(Send in attached form.) No commitment is required of you, though
donations are welcome.
Endorse the Statement on Behalf of Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual Members of our Armed Forces. Solicit your local and state
politicians, as well as community leaders (civic, church, corporate, etc.)
to endorse the Statement on Behalf of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual
Members of our Armed Forces. (Members of Congress have already
been solicited, but your follow up is welcome.) See attached cover letter
to Community leader and accompanying statement.)
Plan on enjoying yourself, wherever you are, whatever you do!
During Stonewall 25 in NYC:
Enjoy yourself! Save some time for your fellow veterans,
but enjoy the Big Apple, too. NYC has well over fifty gay/lesbian bars,
scores of dance clubs, great cabaret, museums, galleries, film, and plenty
of theater, on and off Broadway. In anticipation of the hundreds of
thousands of men and women coming for the Gay Games IV and
Stonewall 25, everyone will be having a special something going on.
There are also a number of conferences taking place that weekend as
well. The enclosed material is only a partial listing of what you can
expect. But don't forget the events being done for and by veterans!
Get acquainted with the Gay and Lesbian Community Services
Center (aka The Center). It is located at 208 West 13th Street in
Greenwich Village and is the focal point for nearly all gay, lesbian,
bisexual, drag, transgender groups in the city. Because of its location,
its better hours of operation, and its function as "The Center,"
information for veterans will always be available at The Center.
If necessary, then contact the office of the Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual Veterans of Greater New York (GLBVGNY) at (212) 349-3455.
They are the host chapter and will try to keep you informed of changes
in events. The GLBVGNY office is located at 346 Broadway, Suite 811
(just below Franklin St.) and will be the site of the Veterans Reception
and Cocktail Party on Saturday afternoon. On weekends, unfortunately,
the GLBVGNY building opens late (noon) and closes early (2000), so,
try to rely on The Center first.
If all else fails, contact me, Ren Puliatti at (212) 387-0783 or
(201) 798-6272.
GETTING AROUND NYC
Getting around NYC is actually quite easy, once you know what
to look for. The extra , million people may make it a little harder, but
it also makes it more exciting.
Generally speaking, the subway is the way to go, and requires
a $1.25 token per ride. If you are going North or South (N/S) the
blocks are short and I would recommend walking anything less than 15
blocks. Since East/West (E/W) blocks are about three times longer, I
would walk anything less than five. (Also, N/S subways are easy to get,
but E/W ones are not.)
Enclosed with this packet are (1) a Visitors map; (2) a
Subway map; and (3) annotated copies of the Visitors and the Subway
maps with the key veteran sites marked with a bullseye. The simplest
routes to key veteran-related sites to be visited during the weekend are
also provided on the annotated copy of the Subway map.
SW25 VETERAN EVENTS: (detailed)
Saturday, 25 June 94
10:00 a.m. Formal Veterans Memorial Service at Soldiers and
Sailors Memorial Monument in Riverside Park (at 89th St.). This is the
first official veterans event for the weekend. The GLBVGNY Color
Guard will present Colors and wreaths. There are also plans for a Rifle
Salute and possibly even a band. Other veteran groups (gay and
otherwise) are invited to present their Colors and wreaths. The
statement on behalf of g/l/b/t veterans will be read by Ren Puliatti at
this time. Boyd Masten of GLBVGNY is running this Memorial Service,
and can be reached at (212) 233-8520.
1:00 p.m. Veterans Memorial Service at Trinity Church
(Broadway & Wall St.), conducted by the Alexander Hamilton Post of
the American Legion, at the grave site of Alexander Hamilton. The site
itself is small, but all veterans are welcome to attend. Bud Robbins of
the Alexander Hamilton Post is running this Memorial Service, and can
be reached at (415) 431-1413.
4 - 7 p.m. Veterans Reception and Cocktail Party at 346
Broadway, 8th Floor Conference Room. Note: the building must be
entered via the north side entrance, at 108 Leonard Street, not on
Broadway. Veterans from across the country can network and socialize,
since the entire floor will be exclusively ours.
Tables will be available for holding literature or merchandise, but
GLBVGNY must know beforehand if a table is needed.
A $10 entrance charge will be made of everyone entering the 8th
floor in order for GLBVGNY to cover the expenses for the reception.
Two free drinks are included with the entrance charge. Free hor
d'oeuvres and a cash bar will also be available.
GLBVGNY will honor its WW II veterans, and other groups are
encouraged to honor their WW II veterans at this time also. Honoring
these WW II veterans fulfills requirements set by the Pentagon. These
WW II veterans will later be honored by the Secretary of Defense as
well and your organization will be recognized, too. Contact German
Lopez at (212) 349-3455 for additional details.
Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) will be the keynote speaker and
other speakers are possible.
8 p.m. - ? "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Protest and Vigil at Times
Square Armed Forces Recruiting Center, following the reception.
Veterans and military personnel will tell their own stories and candles
will be lit to remember those unable to attend. Media is expected.
Legal permits to assemble and to use a loudspeaker are being obtained.
There will be no actions risking arrest.
Sunday, 26 June 94
12 noon Stonewall 25 March. Veterans will probably march the
route from Greenwich Village to Central Park. Probably, because the
City administration has not yet agreed on the proposed March routes.
Mayor Giuliani wishes us to march down FDR Drive (on the eastern
seaport -- visible to nobody). Regardless, come 26 June 1994, a huge
number of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and drag personalities will
march wherever they want. Not to worry; this is normal for New York.
When the routes have been settled and the formation areas assigned,
that information will be passed on to you immediately. Remember to
check with The Center (208 West 13th St) or with the GLBVGNY office
(212) 349-3455 beforehand for updates.
Organizations are encouraged to bring banners and flags, and
individuals are encouraged to wear uniforms (especially currently serving
military personnel).
3:00 p.m. Stonewall 25 Rally in Central Park. Regardless how
many march routes we have we will all eventually unite in the Grand
Meadow of Central Park (behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art on
82nd St). A committee of international and U.S. representatives select
the speakers and entertainment for the Rally, and they apparently have
not decided yet. However, they have shown some interest in having
Michelle Douglass, the Canadian whose case led to its lifting of the ban -
- with little if any problem (surprise, surprise). Several other veterans
and currently serving military personnel were submitted to the speaker's
list, but nothing has been heard back yet from the Speaker Selection
Committee.
OTHER SW25 MATTERS:
Merchandising opportunities are restricted this year. Only Official
SW25 merchandise (and formally contracted out merchandise) can be
sold at the Rally in Central Park. (See attached flyer for official SW25
merchandise.) Also, only Official Gay Games IV/Unity '94 merchandise
can be sold at Gay Games & Cultural Festival events. But we have
solutions:
Solution (1): Sell whatever you want on the 8th Floor of 346
Broadway during the Veterans Reception and Cocktail Party. The main
drawbacks are (a) the time is limited to three hours and (b) the market
is limited to those people there then.
Solution (2): Sell merchandise at the veteran booth at the
Heritage of Pride PrideFest on the Piers. PrideFest (and the booth) will
be open Friday evening, and all day on both Saturday and Sunday. Any
veteran group can use the booth under the umbrella of SW25 Vets. The
cost is only $300.00 for the whole weekend. However, we must ensure
that the booth is being fairly shared by any competing groups.
(Including the costs.)
SW25 Vets was unable to use the old GVA account for obtaining a
not-for-profit status. Instead, in order for donations be tax-deductible,
donations to SW25 Vets need to pass through GLBVGNY, which is
incorporated as a not-for-profit. Please consider donating to GLB Vets.
You can earmark it for a particular purpose (e.g. helping to house
veterans or get them to NYC) or for general purposes. Make donations
payable to "GLBVGNY", but earmarked for SW25 Vets. Our budget
is shoe-string tight and all accounted for. Further, as the SW25 Vets
guidelines stipulate, an audit of SW25 Vets' finances shall be done no
later than 31 August 1994. Again, your contribution is greatly
appreciated.
The transgender and drag communities are irate with SW25 for
not including them in the title of the March and for allegedly
disregarding their concerns, and they are threatening to disrupt the
March and create a new Stonewall riot. I hope they do not. I do
understand the real differences between gender identity and sexual
orientation, and I am empathetic with their frustration and anger.
However, I believe SW25 has heard and addressed many of their
concerns (although still not including them in the title), and I voted, for
various reasons, against their proposal. I am willing to listen to anyone,
as well as discuss my decision, and hope that the rift between the drag
and transgender community and the rest of our community can be
healed; we have enough enemies from without to fight.
Further info on SW25 March:
SW25 is planning multiple march routes to avoid the situation
which occured last year at the MOW, where many of us waited for hours
upon hours to march. The proposed route from the Village is 6 miles
long, starts in the Village, runs up Christopher St., and then turns up
(left) 7th Avenue to Central Park. The routes near the United Nations
(UN) will form up around 50th St. and 3rd Ave. There are a couple of
proposed routes from the UN area, and both are approx. 3 miles long.
By the way, NAMBLA is still excluded from the March.
As previously mentioned, Veterans are planning to march the
Village route (6 mi.). If you have special needs, let us know
beforehand. SW25 is providing transportation for those requesting it,
since no personal vehicles will be allowed in the March.
No floats are allowed in the SW25 March, either, to the ire of club
owners (and admirers of "floats"). The primary justification was because
of the enormous number of people expected (same reason re. personal
vehicles), but the political focus of the event was also a consideration.
A mile-long rainbow flag will be carried by lots and lots of people,
and the creator of the Rainbow flag, Gilbert Baker, distinguished
between floats and the flag in philosophical terms (i.e. the flag as a self-
chosen symbol of liberation vs. the commercialism of the dance clubs
who fund the floats). We will be carrying the 25' x 50' U.S. flag from
Chuck Schoen, and it would be great to have enough currently serving
military personnel to carry it by themselves (approx. 30 needed).
Uniforms would be great to see, too.
Also, many, many thanks to veteran Edward Westrick for first
raising the ideas regarding the protest/vigil at the Armed Forces
Recruiting Center at Times Square. Plan on coming to Times Square
before you party allrt{ight long! Besides, NYC is a late night town.
FINALLY, an updated and concise version of all of this information
will be mailed to you the first week in June and will also be available
when you arrive in NYC. Check (1) The Center at 208 West 13th St.
(212) 620-7310; (2) GLBVGNY office at 346 Broadway (enter at 108
Leonard on weekends) (212) 349-3455; or Ren at (201) 798-6272 or
(212) 387- 0783. The latter phone number, (212) 387-0783, will only be
useful during the weekend of SW25.
Corrections:
Photo Op: In the previous edition of the Stonewall 25 Armed Forces
Veterans Coalition packet, I misidentified the person standing between
Miriam Ben Shalom and Perry Watkins on p.6 as Bud Robbins. His
actual name is Albert King, and he was the inventor of K-rations. Thanks
to Bud Robbins for bringing this mistake to my attention, and thanks to
Boyd Masten for helping me to identify the one and only Albert King.
False Rumors and Changed Plans:
The schedule for veterans events as provided on the cover letter and
further detailed on pp. 3 & 4 is the schedule of veteran events for SW25.
No veterans conference -- GLBVA or otherwise -- is taking place
during Stonewall 25. There were plans for an informal conference for
any veteran or veteran organization, as well as a dinner for veterans, but
these plans were dropped in favor of having the Veterans Reception and
Cocktail Party.
Also, the only veterans gathering at the Armed Forces
Recruiting Center in Times Square is the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Protest and Vigil on Saturday evening, and there will be no actions
risking arrests, contrary to previously released information. We had
previously discussed having the event Monday with an optional part
risking arrest (i.e. physically blocking the entrance to the Recruiting
Center), but that was changed, primarily so that those veterans coming
to NYC from across the country could participate in this event. There
is no veterans protest on Monday. Other protests are planned by
other groups on Monday regarding U.S. HIV immigration policy, lack of
gov't commitment against AIDS, the Religious Right, and other issues.
Contact SW25 offices at (212)741-0132 for more info.
SEE YOU AT STONEWALL 25
19 April 1994
Dear Community leader,
On June 26th, 1994, the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgender community will be celebrating the 25th Anniversary of
Stonewall, the symbolic birth of our modern civil rights movement.
Despite significant advances on several other fronts, our brothers and
sisters in the armed forces unfortunately still face government
sponsored discrimination.
In recognition of their patriotic duty to country, both past and
present, and in recognition of the unique challenges which still lie
ahead, I am asking for your proclamation of support for the lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender men and women who serve -- and who
have served -- in our nation's armed forces.
Below is given the statement which will be read on behalf of
gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender veterans and servicemembers
at a Veterans Memorial Service to be conducted at the Soldiers and
Sailors Memorial Monument in Riverside Park in New York City on
June 25, 1994. You may modify or supplement these words as
appropriate, but I ask that their spirit be retained.
Your proclamation, when accepted, will be bound in a book
memorializing this event. As practical, this book will then be made
available for people to view across the country. Be assured that this
symbol of your leadership and support will be shared with your
community, whether it be local, national, or international. Please
feel free to contact me at the address or telephone number given on
the letterhead if you have any questions.
Thank you in advance for your support.
Sincerely,
[Signed]
Rene A. Puliatti
National Veterans Representative to Stonewall 25
STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF GAY, LESBIAN,
BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER
MEMBERS OF OUR ARMED FORCES
To be read at the Veterans Memorial Service at the Soldiers and
Sailors Memorial Monument in Riverside Park, Manhattan at
10:00 a.m. on 25 June 1994.
I proudly salute the countless gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transgender military personnel who have
served -- and who currently serve -- our country with
honor, courage, and integrity.
From the Revolutionary War to the conflicts of the
present day, these unacknowledged patriots have fought,
bled, and died defending the ideals upon which this
nation was founded, even while they themselves were
being denied those fundamental rights of liberty and
equality. For these men and women, however, there has
been no peacetime; there has been no ceasefire. Every
day and every night they have fought -- and still fight --
a second battle to overcome the ignorance, fear, bigotry,
and hatred of too many of their fellow comrades, their
superiors, and their politicians. Some have needlessly
died. Countless others have been foolishly wasted by a
military establishment so concerned about maintaining a
mythical image of itself, that it has failed to notice the
deeper wounds it inflicts: compromising its own combat
effectiveness, undermining its institutional integrity, and
senselessly destroying the lives of its most dedicated
members.
Despite irrefutable evidence of service to country
with honor and distinction, they have been -- and still
remain -- Unwanted Patriots, permitted to serve only
when the reality of their presence and their honor can be
denied. It is time for this denial to end. It is time for
America to embrace reality, and set the record right.
I am very proud this day to honor our gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transgender veterans and military personnel
for what they are, patriots, in the truest sense of the
word. Let us never forget this fact, and let us honor
them by carrying on the work to ensure that all veterans
and military personnel are treated with the dignity and
respect they have rightfully earned by their selfless
devotion and service to country.
****************************************************************************